Glen Rock's Meghan Donohue spiking the ball in Thursday's state battle with Leonia.

The week could end with the Panthers winning two home matches and a trip to next week's state Group 1 quarterfinals.

"We were all really worried that we weren't going to get a chance to play," senior hitter Abby Strassberg said following Glen Rock's 25-19, 25-19 first-round victory Thursday over Leonia.

Glen Rock's fall athletic teams were worried because superstorm Sandy knocked out power in the building and a school policy of "no-classes, no-sports" put the games in doubt.

All is well at Glen Rock after the Board of Education announced Tuesday that teams could play. Power returned later Tuesday and school reopened Thursday, allowing the Panthers to play at home instead of traveling to Leonia.

"It's good for the girls, and I'm glad that we were able to play and continue on with the great season we're having," said first-year coach Matt Kingsley.

"When you're the higher seed, you deserve to be playing at home," said Leonia coach Cynthia Corn. "It's good that the Board of Education approved that, so the kids don't lose the chance to play because of something they can't control, like a hurricane."

As it turns out, the NJSIAA announced Wednesday that teams now have until Tuesday to play their first-round matches.

Glen Rock (20-2) is enjoying one of the finest seasons in program history. The fourth-seeded Panthers will host No. 13 Hawthorne in the next round today at 4 p.m., a team they beat twice this season en route to the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Colonial Division title.

It's been quite a week, and it began Monday with Kingsley emailing his team the bad news that the Panthers might have to forfeit their first-round game.

"I was really sad, because we worked so hard, and to have to forfeit a state game?" said sophomore hitter Meghan Donohue. "To have the season go down by forfeiting the states …"

"You feel bad for the kids, especially the seniors," Kingsley said. "They worked so hard, and no one expected us to be here, and no one expected us to win the league. And the kids came out of nowhere, and it would have just been bad, an unfortunate situation for us to end that way."

Following the Board of Education's decision to allow the games to be played, senior setter Samantha Alba texted her teammates that the game was on, at Leonia. When power was restored at the school later Tuesday, and it was announced school would reopen Thursday, that meant Glen Rock could host the Lions.

Glen Rock practiced Wednesday at Paramus and that one workout made a difference. While the Panthers were a touch slow and had seven service errors, they played well for a team whose previous game was Oct. 23.

"We're sort of getting our legs back and it's going to take a little while," Kingsley said. "We're trying to get back into the normal routine in school and everything, and practice."

"It's a great feeling knowing that even though we've been away from each other, for almost two weeks, that we could come together and win a game," Alba said. "And it proves our bond, and how hard we've worked this season, and how close we are."

"We were all really worried, and that we weren't going to be able to play again," Strassberg said.

"So it was really nice to get a chance to play with the team, and hopefully we'll do well [today.]"